DRAMA
READING DRAMA
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WHAT IS A PLAY?
 a play is a written document
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script
text
prompt book
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WHAT IS A PLAY?
 it is written to be seen, performed
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collaboration
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script
actors
director
set designers
costumer designers
makeup artists
lighting & sound engineers
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DRAMA & FICTION, POETRY
SIMILARITIES
 elements
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Plot, Characterization
Structure, Atmosphere
Theme, Symbolism, POV
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DRAMA & FICTION, POETRY
DIFFERENCES
 interaction
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written to be performed
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quick exposition (engaging)
one sitting –
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1st & foremost
to be read & studied, too
can’t be stopped, picked up later
(as a paperback)
not rewound, watched again
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DRAMA
Page vs. Stage
 Reading Drama vs. Watching Production
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to study the language
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to pay careful attention to detail
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to ascertain the nuance of the language
word choice
symbolism
allusions
re-read parts
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make connections
get clarity
close examination
DRAMA
HOW TO READ A PLAY
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I. LISTEN TO THE LINES
 Careful Reading –
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feel the tone of the language
listen for emotion behind the lines
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passion, love, assurance
anger, fear, defiance
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I. LISTEN TO THE LINES
 Performance Reading –
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read the lines out loud
read them with others
act out scenes in class
see the work performed
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
 “Scene” = Staging
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see the action on a stage
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a production in your mind’s eye
read like an actor/director
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
 (a) proscenium arch
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proscenium arch
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apron
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arch over which the curtain hangs
space between the foot of the curtain & the
floodlights
upstage
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toward the back
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
 (a) proscenium arch
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downstage
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4th wall
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toward the apron
the “missing” wall
the audience’s perspective
flats
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canvas-covered frames/backdrop
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
 (b) theatre-in-the-round
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aka, arena staging
audience sits around the stage
raised
no 4th wall
perhaps more intimate setting
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greater immediacy
feel as if part of the action
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
 (c) Theatre of the Absurd
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lack of traditional staging, plot, character,
action
can keep or remove or both all of the above
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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
 DRAMA =
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“not a medium of words
BUT
of people moving around onstage using
words”

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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
 Thus
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non-verbal elements –
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movement
gesture
Setting
so read imaginatively
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like an actor/director
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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
 stage directions:
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cues for
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written by the playwright
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gestures
movements
facial expressions
tone of voice
detailed
sparse
written by editors (SHK)
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 filmed productions
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live productions recorded
BBC SHK
 movie adaptations
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more movie than play
Hollywood versions
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 C/C Questions:
1. What has been cut/added (characters,
scenes, subplots)?
2. How does the characterization of the role/s
differ from your original?
3. Do you agree with the casting?
4. Do camera actions (zoom, close-ups,
reactions shots) focus your attention on
certain characters or add to the appreciation
or understanding of certain scenes?
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 C/C Questions:
5.
6.
7.
8.
Is the setting faithful to the script or have
liberties been taken?
Would the play make a better movie or stage
production?
Does the film version enhance your
understanding of the play?
How would the playwright react to the filmed
version?
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 C/C Questions:
9.
As the director, what decisions would you
make in terms of
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pace, costuming,
setting, casting,
characterization,
costume design?
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Main Conflict
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resolved
How?
 Subplots
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What are they?
How do they enhance the main plot?
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Traditional Dramatic Structure (see below)
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Exposition
Complication
Climax
Dénouement
Resolution
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Protagonist
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character analysis
tragic error/fatal flaw
hero or anti-hero
 Minor Characters
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flat, expository function
foil to main characters
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oppose, contrast, criticize
help develop main char.
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Time & Setting
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integral
Can it be changed?
 Title
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clue to understanding
What would yours be?
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Theme
 Genre
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Comedy or Tragedy
Tragic-Comedy
unimportant
 Realistic Presentation
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theatrical devices
lighting, music, costuming,
real/surreal settings
DRAMA
DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
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PLOT
 story
 Aristotle’s “fable”
 beginning, middle, end
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ARGUMENT
 “agon”
 the heart of the dramatic story
 the CONFLICT surrounding the ARGUMENT
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creates Tension & incites interest
 the 2 sides of the argument
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the “pro” and “con”
= Protagonist, Antagonist
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PROTAGONIST
 HERO or HEROINE
 1 person or many
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ANTAGONIST
 VILLAIN
 1 person, group, or
 force
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(supernatural, natural)
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DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
 establish a conflict
 develop both sides of the argument
 reach a credible conclusion
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(Rogerian Method)
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(1) POINT of ATTACK
 the starting point from which the dramatist
leads the audience into the Plot
 opening scene
1.
begun at the beginning
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in medias res
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characters & audience find out at the same time
begun “in the middle of things”
reveal events that have already taken place
(Exposition)
begun toward the end
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reveal events that have already taken place
(Exposition)
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(2) EXPOSITION
 the revelation of facts, circumstances, & past
events
 essential facts @ characters or conflict
 revealed
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through minor chararacters
through jumping right into the action
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(3) RISING ACTION
 the building of interest through
COMPLICATION of the Conflict
 “Complication”
 moving the Protagonist & Antagonist toward
confrontation
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(4) CLIMAX
 the “high point” of the action
 the showdown between the Protagonist &
Antagonist
 the TURNING POINT
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point of no return
 1 event or series of events
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(5) FALLING ACTION
 the unraveling of the Plot
 events fall into place
 the Conflict moves toward Resolution
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(6) DENOUEMENT
 the “untying” of the knot
 the play’s conclusion, explanation, or
outcome of the Action
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the end of the play (go home!)
wedding, lovers’ kiss, song
death, pieta
 CATASTROPHE –
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the Denouement of a Tragedy
often with the death of the Hero/Heroine
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DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
FREYTAG’S PYRAMID of TRAGEDY
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
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only 7 of his 120+ plays survive
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(Theban trilogy)
 Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
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Electra, Ajax
Philoctetes
Women of Trachis (The Trachiniae)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
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born in Colonus
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(near Athens)
studied under Aeschylus
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(master of Greek tragedy)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
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themes:
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no questioning the justice of the gods
assumed a divine order that humans must follow
protagonists:
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strong-willed
prideful
lack of self-knowledge
end tragically b/c of such traits (hubris)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Antigone
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3rd play in the trilogy
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written 1st
442 BC
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 King Laius of Thebes & his descendents=
cursed by Apollo
 Oracle of Delphi
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Apollo’s oracle
warns that Laius’ son will kill him
 Laius abandons Oedipus to die in the
mountains
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Oedipus survives
 later meets & kills his father (unbeknownst to
either) on road to Thebes
 solves the Riddle of the Sphinx & becomes
king of Thebes
 unwittingly marries his mother (Jocasta) &
has children
 later discovers his incest (& patricide), blinds
self, leaves Thebes
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Creon, Jocasta’s brother, becomes king &
guardian of Oedipus’ 2 daughters
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Antigone
Ismene
 Oedipus’ 2 sons vie for throne
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Polynices
Eteocles
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
 Polynices =
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driven out of city but returns w/army
 Polynices & Eteocles
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kill each other in the ensuing battle
 Creon
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becomes king
 Antigone
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opens w/Antigone & Ismene
discussing Creon’s 1st decree
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
 Exposition
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opening scenes
Chorus
the Sentry
 Conflict
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Protagonist (hero/heroine)
Antagonist (villain)
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
 Climax
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too early
 Catastrophe/Denouement
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What is it?
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
 Themes
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clash w/authority, rules, norms, traditions
politician vs. anarchist
*public policy vs. individual conscience
gender conflict
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male vs. female
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
 Ismene as Foil to Antigone
 Eurydice subplot
 updated settings:
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professor vs. student
in Nazi-occupied France
in 1940’s Japanese-American internment
camp
2003 Iraq War, Patriot Act
DRAMA
DRAMATIC CHARACTER
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HERO
 Hero:
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self-sacrifice
self-control
saves others, risk own life
awe-inspiring feats
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HERO
 Classical Tragic Hero:
(Aristotle on the Tragic Hero)
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high renown
upper class
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(rich & famous)
inevitably destroyed
by inherent tragic flaw
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HERO
 Classical Tragic Hero:
(Aristotle on the Tragic Hero)
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tragic flaw
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too much of a typical human attribute
pride, willfulness
jealousy, indecision, giving
suggests BALANCE
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order & proportion of traits within
imbalance brings calamity
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HERO
 Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
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not rich & famous
not tragic flaw
not a clash within
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HERO
 Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
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but average person/“Common Man”
but contrast between idealized self-image &
reality
but conflict with society
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environment denies the fulfillment of self-image
stature
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gained not by wealth
but by pitting self vs. cosmos
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HERO
 Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
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displacement
disillusionment
indignity
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HERO
 Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
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Death of a Salesman
 Willie Loman
 self-image = well-liked, successful, worldly
businessman
 reality = ridiculed, on edge of poverty
Fences
 Troy
 life passing by, world changing
 the way grew up vs. world living in
 self-deception, self-delusion
 self-protective illusion
 self-protective illusion
 deceptions & lies
DRAMA
CULTURE
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CULTURE
 habits of
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thought
behavior
feeling
 invented by humans
 taught to other humans
 passed down to descendents (of humans)
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CULTURE
 BUT not practiced among ALL humans
 connected to
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age
religion
ethnicity
race
social class
sexual orientation
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LITERARY WORK
 part of its social context
 part of the culture in which it was produced
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the culture it was produced in
the culture it is read in
 both
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a product of its culture
a contribution to that culture
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study a work to learn @ its culture
study a culture to learn @ a work
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LITERARY WORK
 since literary works often critique the society
of their times
 they = fitted for cultural analyses
 they attack/support particular social values,
problems, norms, practices, traditions,
beliefs
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rituals, racism, ageism, indifference,
materialism
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CULTURE & LITERATURE
 culture = conditions of the world
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at the time of literary creation
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 affect the presentation of the work’s themes
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CULTURAL ANALYSIS
 HOW TO:
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classify characters into groups
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age, race, religion, ethnicity, physical disability,
class, sex, sexual orientation
note how characters classify or stereotype
other characters or people in general
note themes of power & oppression
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symbols of power, prestige
 (which are culturally defined/determined)
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power relationships (who’s really in control)
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CULTURAL ANALYSIS
 HOW TO:
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elements from sociology and psychology
courses
“human universals”
how does this culture (US 2010) define
success, power & those other terms that
make the culture
DRAMA
CRITICAL APPROACHES
TO DRAMA
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
 Dramatic Elements
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Plot, Subplot
Character
Theme
Setting
Argument (Conflict & Resolution)
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
 Production Elements
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acting
directing
casting
lighting
sound
pace
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
 Dramatic Genre
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Tragi-Comedy
Comedy
Tragedy
Modern
Classical
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
 Gender Roles
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traditional
modern
 Culture
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in which written
in which read